Media Maven Musings

Last night, I had the pleasure of seeing the indie film Teeth as part of the Edinburgh Film Festival. I had vaguely heard about the film because of its success at the Sundance Film Festival, where it was nominated for a Special Jury Prize in drama and lead Jess Weixler won a Special Jury Prize for acting. I didn’t really know what to expect from the film, except for the small crucial bit of plot info I had gleaned from my reading: The lead character, Dawn, has teeth in her vagina. Yup. Let me say it again. Teeth in her vagina.

One person I saw the film with thought it was going to be a documentary and one thought it was going to be a straight-up drama, but all of us were surprised to find that Teeth is in a genre all of its own. Director/writer Mitchell Lichtenstein, making his feature film directing debut, has created one-of-a-kind movie that defies categorization, a quality that is as confusing as it is charming. The majority of the film plays as a sort of over-the-top horror film, with the heightened style of a musical. There is absolutely no subtlety here. Everything is purposefully heightened, like a musical, and every point Lichtenstein wants to make is shoved into your face so there’s no way you can miss it. For example, when Dawn meets Toby (Hale Appleman, a.k.a. Adam Brodie look-alike contest winner), the lovers-to-be lock eyes in a series of highly stylized shots usually found in a campy romance. Another example is the way that the camera often focuses on objects in the frame, such as the mouth of a cave or a large tree stump, that look exactly like vaginas.

There are also a few highly dramatic moments peppered throughout, which keep Dawn honest and identifiable. Weixler is absolutely terrific as Dawn. A paler, older version of Hayden Panettiere, Weixler carries this film on her back, appearing in just about every single scene and winning the heart of every audience member. Throughout the picture, she is forced to play as wide-ranging a variety of emotions as I’ve ever seen, and she does them all while maintaining the extremely delicate balance between being the focal point of the action and being “in on the joke” as well. Currently, she’s mired in indie/short film land right now, which is a total and utter shock to me. Whether you like the movie or not is one thing, but I don’t think there’s a single person who can’t help but be utterly enchanted by Weixler’s airtight performance.

The film is, at its most basic, split into 2 sections: the first episode, which takes about an hour or so, and the next 4 episodes, which all together take about an hour. If you think that sounds weird, it is. The first hour is, for me, the best part of the movie. The story takes its time, patiently allowing the stakes to be raised, as Dawn goes from local chastity club spokesman to finding her first love. We are introduced to Dawn’s anatomical anomaly quite early on, but it takes almost a full hour for Dawn to learn of it herself. The first hour also features the majority of the film’s comedic moments, as it is the most over-the-top and stylized portion of the film, before all the high drama stuff comes in. This first part feels like an entire short film in itself, it’s that fully developed and self-contained.

The second half the film features 4 episodes, as Dawn is sexually violated by a variety of characters who each learn their lesson in a very painful and visually hilarious way. This is also where the film gets a bit confused with its tone and also runs too long. Where the first half is patient and mostly comedic, the second half is jam packed with plot and features incredibly dramatic moments, like the death of Dawn’s mother. There is also a strange story line featuring Dawn’s bad boy stepbrother Brad (John Hensley), who is so over-the-top bad it’s funny/weird (such as when he goes from caressing his girlfriend’s face with a doggie treat to shoving it in her mouth with laughter as soon as she parts her lips. So weird/funny).  We sort of get the picture of what Dawn can do after guy 3 or 4, so adding the extra episodes doesn’t contribute much to the movie, other than length.  About 10 minutes or so shaved off would certainly make the film feel more concise.

If this post seems a bit tentative or erratic, I apologize for lack of clarity, but this movie is just that difficult to describe.  Bottom line: it’s a unique, compelling and entertaining 90 minutes of cinema.  If you’re sick of the Summer of Sequels like I am, a small gem of a movie like Teeth is just what the doctor ordered.  I give the film a high B+.